Lessons from Shiloh…Loving Who You Are Being

Today, I felt such a profound feeling of joy and happiness and loved the moments we were having. It reminded me of a message I received in church recently, which was, “Do you love who you are in the presence of what you are doing?”

Isn’t that great! Do you love who you are in the presence of what you are doing. Today I can say, yes. I love who I’m being for Shiloh and love our time together. That’s not always the case, right! We are human and are not always going to love how we are being every moment. Now I need to preface this by saying that you should always love yourself no matter what. This is about loving your actions and behaviors and how you are showing up.

For me I know that if I’m overtired or hungry and have the food crabbies, I may react in a more impatient and irritated way. When I’m running late and in a rush or stressed out, I’m not always going to love who I’m being in those moments. I think it’s important to recognize what may put you off your game and where you are not showing up as your best self.

It starts with self-awareness and asking better questions…

Am I showing up supportive, peaceful and present?

or

Am I showing up crabby, depressed or negative?

One thing that can shift your state from negative to positive in an instant is when you are in service to someone else. When I’m being of service to Shiloh, I can’t help but love who I’m being for her. Have you ever been down or irritated and a friend phones needing your help and you immediately step up? When you’re in service it can be quite miraculous how fast you can shift your mood, circumstance or condition.

Sometimes it can be the smallest thing, for instance, holding a door open for someone, even if you are in a rush, gives you that moment to connect and step outside your own stuff. Those little things can help us realize that what we are rushing around for or upset about isn’t as urgent as we think and can actually take a toll on us both emotionally and physically.

Think about ways that you can love who you are being in the presence of what you are doing. Even with the mundane tasks that you don’t want to do like vacuuming or doing the dishes, if you shift your thoughts to how you are being of service to your home and family it can change the experience. Helping the kids with homework, that’s a biggie in our home now, when I feel the frustration bubbling up or see that my daughter is getting stressed, I think, how can I serve her best in this moment. My frustration will not be of service and usually a few deep breaths, being present with her and remembering that I want to love who I’m being for her, shifts my state.

Your language is also huge here. If there is something that you are about to say that isn’t loving or supporting or peaceful or going to enhance the situation, then don’t say it. That can be tough to stop when we are in reaction. You know as soon as those words come out you wish you could pull them back in. Again, you’re human and the best way to handle it is to come full circle right away and apologize. Opening up and being vulnerable and addressing it right away, I find is the best way to move through it.

Being in service and being vulnerable are two sure fire ways to get out of your head and into your heart.